Heat pipes are well known devices in the art of heat transfer, for example in electronic cooling applications, such as in avionics. A heat pipe is a closed system used to transfer heat in which a working liquid that is vaporizable and condensable is disposed within a sealed and evacuated enclosure. The liquid is cycled through an evaporation and condensation cycle. Heat entering the enclosure via an evaporator surface vaporizes the liquid, and the vapor then moves to a cooler location in the enclosure where the liquid is condensed and returned back to the evaporator surface to continue the cycle. This heat transfer process in a heat pipe is well understood.
Despite the well known nature of heat pipes, continued improvements to heat pipe technology are necessary. For example, some heat pipes in the past have required that significant mass be added to the device/system cooled, as well as careful manufacturing tolerances and sealing techniques due to the need to produce the pressured vapor enclosure or chamber. Although some heat pipes can transfer heat rapidly through the vapor chamber, getting heat to the chamber remains a challenge. In advanced processing applications, such as in avionics, cooling techniques that will move heat energy away from processors remains a need. The ability to cool such devices, for example, is a factor on processing density.